Politics
WATCH: Zelensky Refuses To Apologize, Angles For Closed-Door Meeting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News that he does not believe he owes President Trump an apology after a contentious Oval Office meeting, which devolved into a shouting match after the president thought Zelensky was being disrespectful and ungrateful.
Zelensky sat down with Fox News host Bret Baier for a 40-minute, live interview within hours of the meeting. When asked whether he believed he owed President Trump an apology, the Ukrainian president refused to give a solid answer before eventually saying no.
“Now i respect president and I respect American people and if uh… I don’t know if I think that we have to be very open and very honest and I’m not sure that we need something,” he said. Zelensky then stated that he wishes the meeting would have taken place behind closed doors and away from the media.
Democrats previously used a private conversation between Trump and Zelensky to launch the first of two bogus impeachment proceedings.
“I think maybe sometimes from… things we have to discuss uh… out of media with all respect to democracy and to a free media but there are things that where we have to understand the position of Ukraine and Ukrainians and I think that is the most important thing,” Zelensky continued. “Yes we are partners you know we are very close partners we have to be fair, we have to be very free.”
The Trump Administration, along with congressional leaders, were under the impression that Zelensky was in D.C. to sign a minerals deal and work towards security guarantees. After the meeting got off to a cordial start, tensions boiled over when Zelensky continued to ask for increased military aid despite a hard red line from President Trump.
About halfway through the meeting, Vice President Vance took issue with Zelensky’s tone and asked whether he had ever said “thank you” to the American people. The Ukrainian president then said that the U.S. will “feel pressure” in the near future if they pull funding from the war, at which point President Trump became furious with what he perceived as veiled threats and an ungrateful attitude.
“You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel,” Trump said. “You’re in no position to dictate that.”
Trump went on to suggest that Ukraine had mismanaged its wartime strategy. “You’re not in a good position. You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position. Right now, you’re not playing cards. You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country.”
